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(Vatican Radio) The Immaculate Conception of Mary is “inscribed in God’s plan; it is the fruit of God’s love which saves the world.” These were Pope Francis’ comments during his weekly Angelus address for the second Sunday of Advent which coincides with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

On this Feast, the Holy Father said, our gaze turns to the “beauty of the Mother of Jesus, our Mother!” It is with great joy, he continued, that the Church contemplates the words of Saint Luke “full of grace” (Lk 1:28). Mary, moreover, guides us as we journey towards Christmas, teaching us “how to live this time of Advent waiting for the Lord.” Pope Francis went on to say that the Immaculate Conception was inscribed in God’s plan; it was the fruit of God’s love whereby the world was saved.

After leading the crowds in Saint Peter’s Square in praying the Angelus, the Pope expressed spiritual closeness to the Church in North America, which is celebrating the 350th anniversary of its first parish: Notre-Dame de Québec.

The Holy Father concluded his Angelus address by wishing everyone a happy feast of Our Lady, and a good lunch.

(Vatican Radio) Following a tradition laid out by his predecessors, Pope Francis celebrated the Feast of the Immaculate Conception by travelling to Piazza di Spagna where he venerated the statue named for the Marian Feast.

Pope Francis’ 77th birthday is Dec. 17 and the group Catholic to the Max will be shipping to Rome a giant birthday card for the occasion.

The Pope’s birthday card was at the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) in Indianapolis at the end of November, where it was signed by thousands of Catholic youth.

The birthday card then returned to Steubenville, Ohio, hometown of Catholic to the Max and Franciscan University of Steubenville, where it has been made available for additional signings at various traveling locations.

Gifts

The Pope’s birthday card features several pages where signers can agree to a specific gift, such as “I prayed a Rosary for you,” or “I served the poor on your behalf.”

Digital signatures will be taken at at the web site up until the shipping date (Dec. 9). On the day the card is shipped to Rome, all digital signatures will be printed out and attached to the card.

The card features an oversize print of Pope Francis’ special Marian devotion, “Mary, Undoer of Knots.”

Vatican City, Dec 4, 2013 / 12:37 pm (CNA).- During a recent visit to a parish on the outskirts of Rome, Pope Francis revealed that if he had the power to conduct one miracle, it would be to heal suffering children.

The Pope was visiting St. Cyril parish to celebrate the sacrament of confirmation, and afterwards spent several hours visiting with the people there. One of the teenagers who was being confirmed asked him what miracle he would perform if he could.

According to Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, the Holy Father’s answer was: “To heal children, because it pains me to see children suffer.”

The Holy Father greeted the sick people at the parish one by one, embracing them with a smile and sharing words of comfort. Some wept for joy at seeing him.

He also spoke with the people present. He asked the children receiving First Communion, “Are you good? Do you know how to pray? Thank you for being here to spend this time together and get to know each other better.”

To the parents of children baptized during the year, the Pope said, “When they are baptized, we bring home not only our child but also a seed of divinity that we must help to grow.”

Patience towards children is important, he continued, “and talking with them and teaching them is wonderful.” Even more wonderful, however, is the awareness that with baptism, “A divine sign comes into the home.”

He also told them that he had never imagined becoming Pope, and he was “a little bit” anxious celebrating his first Mass after being elected, because “to face so many people is a little scary.”

“But the people were nice,” he said, adding that “the Lord has helped me to be a priest, and then a bishop and now Pope.”

Questioned about his daily schedule, the Holy Father said, “I pray, then I celebrate Mass and then I begin to work,” reading letters, documents and having meetings with cardinals, bishops, priests and lay people. Lunch is at noon, followed by half an hour of rest. Then he begins working again until night, LOR reported.

The Pope also revealed that he worked as a bouncer at a night club when he was younger. He also taught literature and psychology, and learned from his experience how to help fallen-away Catholics return to the Church.

“We don’t have to go door to door proselytizing,” he said, quoting Benedict XVI, “because the Church spreads through attraction.”

The Pope’s final gesture was to bless an unborn child and to bid farewell to the people, encouraging them to use the period of Advent to prepare well for Christmas in order to “encounter Jesus once again.”

This morning, 3 December, Pope Francis met with the Council of Cardinals, the group of eight cardinals assisting in the governance of the universal Church and examining a revision of the Apostolic Constitution Pastor bonus on the Roman Curia. Fr Federico Lombardi, Director of the Holy See Press Office, announced this in a briefing with journalists to explain the second session of the Cardinal’s meetings which will be taking place at the Vatican until Thursday, 5 December. The cardinals’ first session was held from 1 to 3 October. On the day’s agenda was “a thorough examination of the Roman Curia, which began with a reflection on the dicasteries”, starting with the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. Fr Lombardi pointed out that “it will be a matter of readjusting: we want to go in depth. This is not a marginal improvement, but a substantial revision” of Pastor bonus in order to reach a new Apostolic Constitution on the Roman Curia. After having concelebrated at morning Mass with the Pope in the Chapel of Santa Marta, the small group, along with their secretary Bishop Marcello Semeraro, met in a room near the chapel. The agenda includes morning sessions from 9 am to 12:30 pm and from 4 to 7 pm. Fr Lombardi said that the tasks have been divided among the Cardinals based on personal experience, but the responsibility of making decisions is considered to be common and shared. Since the October session, the eight cardinals have collected extensive documentation and gathered other points of view, participating in meetings of their bishops’ conferences.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In his clearest public reference as pope to the subject of clerical sex abuse, Pope Francis urged bishops to support abuse victims while also reaching out to priests who have “fallen short of their commitments.”

(Vatican Radio) Preparing for Christmas through prayer, charity and exhaltation. With this hope, Pope Francis called on the faithful Monday to open their hearts and allow themselves to encounter the Lord who renews all. Read more.

Today, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Francis received in audience His Excellency Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of the State of Israel, who subsequently went on to meet with Secretary of State Archbishop Pietro Parolin, accompanied by the Under-Secretary for Relations with States, Msgr. Antoine Camilleri. During the colloquial discussions, attention was focused on the complex political and social situation in the Middle East, with particular reference to the reinstatement of negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, expressing hope that a just and lasting solution respecting the rights of both Parties may be reached as soon as possible. Aside from indicating the Holy Father’s plans for a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, various questions were considered regarding the relations between the State Authorities and the local Catholic communities, as well as between the State of Israel and the Holy See, in the hope that the Agreement which has been in preparation for some time may be concluded forthwith.

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis had a private meeting in the Vatican on Monday afternoon with the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. It’s the fourth time the Russian leader has been here to the Vatican – he met twice with Pope John Paul II in 2000 and 2003 and had an audience with Pope Benedict in 2007.

In September this year, Pope Francis also wrote directly to President Putin, as the city of St Petersburg prepared to host the G20 summit of world economic leaders. In that letter, the Pope spoke of the need for a more just global financial framework, stressing that “the world economy will only develop if it allows a dignified way of life for all human beings, from the eldest to the unborn child, not just for citizens of the G20 member states but for every inhabitant of the earth, even those in extreme social situations or in the remotest places… “Pope Francis also focused in that letter on the need for an urgent solution to the Syrian conflict, saying: “It is regrettable that, from the very beginning of the conflict in Syria, one-sided interests have prevailed and in fact hindered the search for a solution that would have avoided the senseless massacre now unfolding..”